Half of home care workers report concerns for vulnerable people sparking fears of mental health crisis

A mental health crisis among the elderly and vulnerable may be emerging as over half of home care staff report being concerned for the mental health of those they care for, since the start of the pandemic.

A survey has revealed that 57 per cent of 1,366 home care staff say they have become worried about the mental health of the people they look after at home, in the wake of the UK going into lockdown.

The survey, which was carried out during the seventh week of lockdown, was conducted by homecare.co.uk, a leading reviews website for providers that give care to people in their own homes.

The findings come following figures from the Office of National Statistics showing nearly half of people in Britain had reported high levels of anxiety in the last week of March. The Royal College of Psychiatrists has warned that services could be overwhelmed by “a tsunami of mental illness”.

Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s national clinical director for mental health, told the Commons health and social care committee that demand for mental healthcare would increase “significantly” once the lockdown is over and would result in people needing treatment for trauma for years to come, especially those who had been in intensive care or had lost someone to COVID-19.

In addition the poll carried out by homecare.co.uk, found 86 per cent of respondents said loneliness had become more of an issue for their clients since the outbreak of Covid-19, with 80 per cent of home care staff also highlighting that they are the only contact some of their clients have with the outside world.

A spokesperson for homecare.co.uk said: “These findings, that over half of home care workers have become concerned about the mental health of people they care for since the start of the pandemic, are hugely worrying.

“There are thousands of people shut away from society enduring lockdown, trapped in their homes alone due to mobility issues. For some, home care workers are their only human contact and a vital source of comfort and companionship.

“It is important therefore that home care workers are given help with sourcing PPE and extra funding from local authorities to pay for it so they can continue being that crucial link between vulnerable people and the outside world. We have home care providers that are being stretched financially with some paying thousands of pounds every month just for face masks. This needs to be sorted out or we will be seeing the impact on people’s mental and physical health for decades to come.”

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